WASHINGTON (US) – President Donald Trump is all set to conduct a campaign rally in Iowa on Wednesday with less than three weeks left for the presidential vote. He is trying to make up for the time lost on the campaign trail during his recent tryst with the novel coronavirus.
As he is racing against time, Americans are casting their ballots at a record pace. As many as 12 million people have already exercised their franchise, according to data from the Elections Project at the University of Florida.
Polling places and sidewalks witnessed long, snaking queues of voters in Texas and Georgia on Tuesday. On Wednesday, early polls will begin in Kansas, Rhode Island and Tennessee.
The Republican president will address an evening rally at the airport in Des Moines, Iowa. His opponent Democrat Joe Biden has no public campaign events scheduled after stumping in Florida on Tuesday.
Trump hit the campaign trail on Monday night in Florida for the first time after he was tested positive for the virus. The rally began hours after the White House said he had tested negative on consecutive days and was not infectious.
His visit to Iowa is a worrisome sign for his re-election hope. He trounced Hillary Clinton there in the last election by almost 10 percentage points, but recent polls show the state to be competitive.
The president will spend much of his week trying to bolster his support among White conservative voters rather than reaching out to people who are undecided, many of whom live in the hinterlands. He will travel to Greenville on Thursday where early voting will begin that day. From there, he will head for rural Georgia and central Florida the day after.
Iowa is witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus infections and hospitalisations are at an all-time high. Governor Kim Reynolds, who is a Republican, has opposed implementing state-wide curbs to stem the spread of the virus such as mandatory face masks. She appealed to Trump supporters on social media to come out and see the president.
